The student who filed a Title IX lawsuit against the University of Oregon in regard to her allegations of gang rape against three UO basketball players has filed a stipulation dismissing the case against the UO today “persuant to a settlement agreement,” according to an email from one of her attorneys, John Clune of Colorado.
Earlier this week Clune announced the student had dropped the suit against basketball coach Dana Altman.
Clune supplied this statement from the student in regard to today’s announcement.
I am so glad to have this case behind me today and to be able to focus on my studies. I am very grateful for the outpouring of support that I have received from students, faculty, and other organizations. The response from the UO community has been remarkable and I know that the increased awareness around these issues on our campus can only serve to help us. I would be remiss to not specifically thank the Dean of Students Office and my therapist from the UCTC [the UO’s University Counseling and Testing Center] and other UCTC personnel for their continued assistance throughout this experience. Without those services, it would have been very difficult to stay in school here during these events and for that I am very grateful.
If there is a monetary settlement the amount has not been announced. UO prof. Bill Harbaugh’s watchdog blog UO Matters speculates the cases against the UO and Altman are being settled for a “rumoured $1 million.”
According to a redacted version of the settlement, with Jane Doe’s name protected, the UO will pay the student $800,000, four years of tuition, housing and student fees, and, most importantly for future students, it agrees to “pursue a policy change requiring all transfer applicants to report any disciplinary history at their current or prior schools, and if they report any disciplinary history, require they sign a FERPA release to allow the university to access their disciplinary records.”
One of the issues in the case was the fact that one of the basketball players, Bradon Austin, had been accused of sexual assault at his previous college. A sympathetic May 29 CBS sports piece examines his desire to play at another school.
The UO also issued a statement from incoming President Michael Schill that begins,”In approving this settlement, it is my hope that we focus our attention and considerable expertise on making our campus one on which all students will feel secure in the knowledge that they will be free from sexual violence.”
Earlier this year the UO faced critcism for countersuing the alleged rape survivor, as well as for accessing her counseling records without permission. The UO also accessed without permission the counseling records of another student, Laura Hanson, who filed a lawsuit against the UO alleging it had mishandled her sexual assault case.
Full disclosure: One of the attorneys involved in the case is Jennifer Middleton of Johnson, Johnson and Schaller. EW co-owner Art Johnson is one of the Johnsons in that firm.